NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Wednesday rejected the review plea filed by AIIMS, New Delhi against its April 24 order allowing termination of a 28-week pregnancy of a 15-year-old girl.
Expressing serious concern over the filing of the review petition, a bench of Justices B V Nagarathna and Ujjal Bhuyan said AIIMS was challenging the Supreme Court’s order instead of complying with it.
"It is strange that the review petitioner-All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) is not inclined to obey the order of the Supreme Court and instead, is assailing the order of this court, in order to defeat the constitutional rights of the minor daughter of the appellant herein," the bench said while dismissing the review plea.
Following the rejection of the review petition, a curative petition has been filed challenging the order. The plea is likely to be mentioned for urgent hearing on Thursday before a bench led by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant.
A contempt petition has also been filed in the same matter in the apex court.
On April 24, the Supreme Court had allowed the minor girl to terminate her 28-week pregnancy, observing that forcing a woman, especially a minor, to continue an unwanted pregnancy would violate her right to live with dignity and reproductive autonomy.
"No court can force a woman, especially a minor, to carry a pregnancy to full term, against her will. The pregnant woman carrying an unwanted pregnancy if compelled to continue such a pregnancy, then the constitutional rights of the pregnant woman would be breached,” the two-judge bench had said.
The bench said the choice of the pregnant woman is more relevant than that of the child to be born and stressed that continuation of such a pregnancy could have long-lasting effects on the minor’s mental health, education, social standing and overall development.
"The constitutional courts must prioritise the best interests of the pregnant woman over the statutory and procedural limitations under the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act when dealing with cases of unwanted pregnancies, likely to result in major mental and physical trauma," the court had added.
The girl has been admitted to AIIMS Delhi since April 10. While allowing the termination, the court underlined that directing continuation of such an unwanted pregnancy would affect her long-term well-being, autonomy and dignity.
The bench had also taken note of the minor’s mental distress, as it was reported that she had attempted to take her own life multiple times, and observed that forcing continuation would have “long-lasting repercussions” on her life.
The girl’s mother had approached the apex court seeking permission for termination of the pregnancy.
The court also observed that the right to make decisions regarding one’s own body, especially in matters of reproduction, is a core part of personal liberty and privacy under Article 21 of the Constitution. It cautioned that denying relief in such cases could push women, especially minors, towards unsafe procedures that may cause irreversible harm.
In India, abortion can be performed up to 24 weeks of pregnancy under the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Amendment Act, 2021.
